This past winter I decided to give the treadmill, that has been collecting dust in the corner of one of the bedrooms, a try. We have had it take up space in our home for about the past 20 years. I’ve never liked running – well, okay, actually I have never liked exercise, period. It is just too much work..and it is hard work, too. When it comes to any exercise program I have always been a great starter but I have never stuck to one thing for too long. (I have the mountain of workout tapes, dvds, and wii games, to prove it.) If I didn’t see results within a few days it was time to pack it up and move on. But, to my own amazement, I actually discovered that the more I used the treadmill the more I looked forward to getting up early and working out on it. I’ve been doing the preset programs and like the fact that I have been able to see myself move from barely making it through the low intensity workout up to the medium intensity. I haven’t made it through a complete workout on the high intensity, yet, but I do have that set as a goal to reach for.

About a month ago my daughter told me about an App called; “Couch to 5K” that she had recently loaded on her iPad. When she explained it to me I thought it sounded like fun, so I decided to install it and set a 5K as my new goal. We are going to work our way to running a 5K together. There has even been talk of doing it together as a family. Sounds fun, doesn’t it? It was working great until yesterday when I began week three and the time for running increased an entire minute in two of the runs. (Don’t laugh, please.) When I looked at the schedule my first thought was, “There is no way I can run that long.” And I was tempted to not move on, but then my next thought was, “What if I can run it?” If I didn’t at least try to complete it I would never know what I could do. So, off I went, determined to give it my best shot, knowing I could always walk if I needed to. Let me tell ya, it was hard for me. As I worked on completing the last run, I was tempted to give in to the voice inside my head telling me it was ok to walk when suddenly these words popped into my brain, “They shall run and not be weary” from Isaiah 40:31, followed by Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” I then began to repeat these verses over and over in my mind and you know what? I began to have new strength to finish the run. It was so exciting for me to finish what I had decided (before even trying) would be too hard to accomplish. I had nearly talked myself out of even trying to do it when I looked at what was expected. It felt so great to complete the days plan knowing that I had put everything I had into it. And when I wanted to give up, the Spirit inside of me began to speak to me the words I needed to encourage me to finish.

I came home and went right to the Word of God to look up Isaiah 40:31. It says this, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” The word wait from the Hebrew word, qavah, means to wait, look for, hope, or expect. So those who hope, wait, look for, expect on the Lord shall have the promises of Isaiah 40:31 to look forward to. I know once I stopped telling myself it was too hard and that I should just give up and began to focus on the Word, I had new strength. I finished every run and it felt great! It made me begin to question the many times in my life that I have given up because the finish line seemed too hard to reach. How many times have I made a decision before starting something new that to finish was impossible, therefore why try? I've given up on way too many things because I didn't have the patience to see it through to the end. Can you relate? Is there something that you have determined in your mind to be too hard to begin or to overcome? Maybe you are like me and know you need to exercise but you don't have the confidence, or the energy, to start. It might be something more along the lines of letting go of an addiction, a secret sin or an unhealthy relationship. The Lord may be pressing upon you the need to offer forgiveness to someone so He can bring reconciliation to the relationship. Maybe the Lord is calling you to complete surrender to Him and you are afraid of the cost if you do. Yes, there is a cost. There was discomfort and a lot of sweat on my part while I ran but in the end the pain was well worth the effort. I know for certain that walking with the Lord may bring some discomfort but in the end it will be well worth it. Can I just encourage you to waste no more time making excuses... go get your shoes on and start....RUNNING.